life is calling. are you going to answer?

I started and finished my application for the Peace Corps in March or February. I don't remember. I was in Kenya and all hyped up on saving the world. It happens often.

I got an email from them like a week later. They wanted and interview and me to rewrite a few of my essays. Oh crap. This is real.

I had a mild freak out. I was out of the country. I still have a semester of school and an internship left before I can leave. I set them an email after a week of thought. "Can I please put this all on hold?" It was a miracle. They said that was possible.

School finished. I graduated. Internship started going. I got a job. I definitely did not want to be in America. Everything seemed just temporary until I could sort out what I really wanted to do. My wanderlust had never ever been this bad. I would go to sleep dreaming of traveling and being far away eating awful foods and getting diarrhea from it. It sounded so wonderful.

I knew I had two choices. Move to Kenya for a year or so or the Peace Corps. I was in a pickle for a couple of months. I really had no idea. I made a few phone calls to my Kenyan friends and Bishop. Would it even be possible for me? I couldn't live at the orphanage for the whole year. I would have to get a house. Then the other side. I was Googling all about the Peace Corps. I bought books and read them. I Googled "Mormons in the Peace Corps." I wanted to know.

I emailed the Peace Corps back in the middle of all this. "I am ready. Could I please be taken off hold?" It is after your trail of faith you will know. The more I talked with my recruiter. The further along I got with the process the more I knew with out a doubt this was right. The further along I got with the Peace Corps the more moving to Kenya made me feel extremely uneasy and stressed.

I was not supposed to move to Kenya.
I am supposed to do the Peace Corps.

I am stoked about this. It is all I can talk about. I cannot wait to leave. I am DYING waiting for my assignment. This is worse then a mission call. You honestly never know when it will come. One month? 3 months? Who knows?

Everything is subject to change but when I went and had my interview, my recruiter and I went through a few programs and their descriptions. On my application she said that I was the perfect fit to teach high school English in the rural areas of Zambia.

This is all so perfect.

I have submitted my application.
I have had my interview.
I have put in my fingerprints.
They have been reviewed and I am not a criminal.
The medical people have sent me an email saying I am cleared.

All I need is my assignment.
That was all I wanted for Christmas.
Maybe my birthday? It is tomorrow.  

happiest moment

Kaleigh and I went to a presentation at SFSU. There was a panel of 4 people and they asked them their happiest moments.

One talked about how his neighbor's child's first word was his name.
Another talked about searching the Mongolian countryside for horses.
This man talked about taking kids out of their village for their first time ever and introducing them to the capital.
The first man also talked about when his soccer team he coached only lost by 3 to an adult team and was ecstatic.

And the list goes on of times they mentioned.

It got me to thinking. What is my happiest moment in life?
I know exactly when I was the happiest and this is all due to change as I get older.

It was my first year in Kenya. My roomie, Allynne, and I went to Nairobi for the first time ever for the weekend. We had fun hanging out with other volunteers but were excited to get back to Thika to see our boys. The taxi guy was on Kenyan time and picked us up late and then the traffic was really bad. We felt like there was no way we were going to make it to Thika before our boys went to bed.

We pulled into the compound way past the boy's bed time but too our heart's delight we saw that the boy's lights in the dorm were still on. Allynne and I dropped our stuff at our door and ran to the dorm. I didn't think this was possible but the boys seemed more excited to see us then we were to see them.

We only got around the corner before the screaming and excitement started.
"Mzungo! Mzungo! Mzungo!"

Allynne and I got to the dorms and opened the door. A flood of orphan boys jumped into my arms and hugged me from all sides. The ones who could speak a little English told us they thought we went back home and are so glad we are here to stay awhile.

Never in my life have I felt so much joy. I could have exploded, knowing that in my short 1 week stay in Kenya the boys had fallen in love with me as much as they had smitten me.

for the curious

The question of the hour from everyone and their mother: 

"So Megan, what is in the plans now?"

If I knew I would love to tell you. How about you tell me what I should be doing. Make my life a little more easy. 

After that question people start throwing out ideas:

They always start with the job idea. "How is the job search going? Are you working?" 

I am working. I work at a YMCA day care program for a bunch of extremely wealthy kids that go to a on school site program. It is quite the switch from working with kids that have no parents to these kids that are 5 with parents and all have iPads.  

Another question because... well, I am the 2nd oldest and it is a hot topic: 

"How are the male prospects?"

Complicated. Let's leave it at that and with the dear lord.

 Next we find ourselves on the Africa subject:

"When are you going back?"

I wish I knew. I want to be there almost every single day of my life. (There are moments when I am super thankful to live in America. I would not trade my citizenship.) My heart yearns to be surrounded by black people and the Kiswahili language. 

There always a bunch of other questions:

"Have you thought about getting your masters?"

Yes. I have thought about it. Who doesn't?

"What do you want to do with the rest of your life?"

I have no freaking clue or else I could have answered the last ten million questions.

And they go on and on and on and on. 

No one tells you at after you graduate from college you still really have no idea what you are doing. It always looked like everyone else had their lives so planned out and ready when they were my age. I have been fooled. This is an age of pure confusion and trying to figure out where you fit in. 

Remember middle school and that feeling of not really knowing where you belonged? Yeah, it is kind of like that but amplified because now it is real life and does effect your future directly. 

I am at this crossroads which is more like a spaghetti bowl of choices in what I want to do. I don't want to stay with the YMCA. I don't want to be home for a long period of time. I think all I know is what I do not want. I am not too sure on what I do want. 

I want to be happy and follow my heart. 

For now I have not made any permanent choices. I want to keep my options open because what I have right now is definitely not what I want long term but good for now.

Here are some sister pictures from Kerianna's wedding. Random for this blog post. I know. 

Enjoy.

'merica

I have been here for a few months now. It guess it is time to blog. I got home from Kenya in April. Leaving was awful. Coming home was the pits but having a loving family to come home to is great. I got to California and left for Idaho less than 48 hours later. I was trying to remember why that all happened so fast and it is because we missed our original flight. Kaleigh and I got an extra day in Kenya. Talk about a high stress moment in my life. 

I got to school. It was great. I had some freaking crazy roomies. One of them meet and got engaged to a guy within 9 days. I had roomies from the South that tried to convert me to their ways. The closest I got was going crawfishing and saying, "Y'all come back now." It always feels so unnatural to say it. I don't really remember any crowning moments from this semester. Most days, I hung out with a lot of African people. They were almost my only friends and I miss them so much. Julianne Hansen was also up at school and I loved that. 

My roomies: Sarah, Courtney, Chelsea, Morgan and Hannah

It was my last semester. I graduated from BYU-Idaho. It does not even feel real. I cannot be that old. I am now in the market for an internship in Recreation Management. If you have any leads, please help a sister out. I am willing to go anywhere. I am always up for an adventure. 

And what has happened since then? I went on a pioneer trek with my home stake youth. It was so wonderful. I am still not 100% sure what my job was but I was there and willing to help where ever was needed. 

Kerianna got married. I have no pictures of that yet. It was great and simple. There was no bridezilla. It has provided me with ample cousin time. That is a blessing. 

And that is my life. 

hurt

Kaleigh and I will be walking through town and see a crowd of people circling around something. Being white girls in Kenya it is just a good idea to avoid those gatherings because you never know what is happening. I really try to keep us safe. But you know when it is someone hurt.

This happens all the time. I don't always know how people get hurt but you will come across people sitting on the ground crying their hearts out because they are hurt. The Kenyans will form a circle around this injured person and just stare. No one does anything.

Kaleigh and I come up on this situation all the time. It is always when we are pressed for time or in a rush. Everything in me wants to help them but I am always filled with so much insecurity that out weighs the desire. I worry that they only speak Swahili and I don't know enough. I am worried that I will try to help and just embarrass myself. You know... selfish things.

I do carry around a first aid kit with me. I give out bandaids here and there but that is about it. Towards the end of my time in Kenya all I had was bandaids in my bag because I took out the rest.

The last week we were in Kenya, Kaleigh and I were checking off things we needed to do in town. We swung by our video guy to pick up some music. On the way out of his little shop we witnessed a teenage street kid get hit by a truck. It was insta-craziness. All the street kids were screaming and making noise. The circle of Kenyans was beginning to form. Everyone was just staring... Including me.

He had a huge chunk of flesh missing from his ankle and blood was going everywhere. All I had was bandaids. If I had the rest of my first aid kit there I could have done so much. I was shaking and almost in tears. I have never felt so helpless over a situation I could have helped.

A piki piki driver came by and offered to take him to the hospital. They pile this helpless boy on the back on a motorcycle with 2 other street kids. I gave them 1000 shillings and they were on their way. As they drove the injured kid left a trail of blood on the road.

I never saw that street kid again but I pray that he is okay.

I vow that the next time I am in Kenya and see someone hurt... no matter how busy I am... I will stop and fully help them because I will keep my first aid kit stocked.

I never want to feel the way I felt watching that boy drive away dripping blood on the back of a motorcycle. 

piki piki wisdom

I love taking motorcycle taxis. It is my favorite way to get around Kenya. I am 98% sure that it also is the most dangerous but nothing beats the rush of the wind in your hair. A lot of Kenyans are afraid to ride on the back of a piki piki but not I. I jump at every opportunity.

To get to the Abilla's place we have to take a piki piki from the highway or to get from town to their place we take a piki piki to where we can catch a matatu. Without fail we always take a piki piki or two or four when we visit them. It is a blessing.

There are a wide range of different drivers we get. Some of them know zero English. Some drivers are super chatty. Some drivers like to go fast. Some drivers are really nervous to have a white person on the back of their bike. Some drivers want to brag to all their friends they have a white girl on the back of their bike as we drive past them. Every driver is different.

I was on the back of a piki piki going from the Abilla's place to the matatu stage. This driver was especially chatty. Earlier in the day it had rained. He apologized for his wet clothes and the fact they were getting me a little damp. I really did not mind.

As a side note: Most Kenyans hate the rains because of the mud and they have to walk in it. It is really understandable. This was the rainy season when I took his ride and all I ever heard was complaints about the rain. 

Of course his wet clothes brought up the subject of the rain. He had a totally different perspective to the rain then anyone I had talked to. "I am grateful for the rains. If there is rain it means there will be food on the table for my family to eat. When there is no rain the crops don't grow."

Boom. This man knew where it was at. He loves the rains. He is willing to deal with the mud for the blessings it gives his family.

That was my dose of piki piki wisdom for the day. 

dimples

I am just at a loss of words. I love this picture. Peter Jimmy all cuddled up in my lap. 

Today I was super tired because some of the boys from my ward slept over last night and kept us up all night and then woke up around 5:30. 

What the heck?

So I was laying in the grass. Peter Jimmy took his cute little body and curled it up right against mine. Just as cute as he is in this picture. He doesn't speak English. He basically only knows, "yes."He also has a little lisp and the deepest dimples. Kaleigh and I would ask him a bunch of questions. 

"Are you cute?"

"YES"

"Am I making you blush?"

"YES"

He would smile more and more with each question. His dimples are so freaking cute.

Then he got a piece of long grass and would tickle my face with it. I closed my eyes for a little bit and before I knew it there was Bryo blowing in my ear. He would tell me to wake up and then blow in my ear. It was the weirdest feeling. Who knew that blowing in someone's ear wakes them up?

Moments like these are the reason I long to come back to Kenya. 

the end is in sight

We are in our last few days in Kenya. It doesn't feel real. I can count the days on one hand.

I sit with the boys and play with them. I think to myself:
"When in my life will I have another opportunity to have a bunch of orphan boys play with my hair?"
"When will I ever experience beautiful skies like this again?"
"I am so lucky to be a part of this child's life."
"I need to take in this moment."
"I am going to miss this so much."
"I am so blessed."
"When will I come back? I need to come back."

Mostly I always think about how I am so grateful for this experience. I still don't really know why I came to Kenya this year. That is honest.

Like I always say... I love Kenya. More then ever.

Every year I become more and more like a local and people tell me that all the time.
I just need to up and move here because going home always feels like it is going to kill me.

Life in Kenya is normal.
This is home.
Home is where your heart is.

musa

Musa is a character. There are not enough words to describe him. I feel like Kaleigh and I see one side of Musa and the boys see a differing side. 

Musa and I have this thing going on where instead of shaking hands as normal people do he will shake a finger or two really lightly and expect me to do the same in return. Then it will continue until we are shaking elbows or something. He is quirky. 

He gets the award for making the nastiest/funniest faces in front of the camera. He always makes weird squealy noises. He does them all. Musa is a fighter. The boys say that whenever he is even touched he will freak out and beat you. 

This year Musa took a good slice to the head and I got to take him to the doctor. This boy can scream. That is for sure. He also gets really offended if you bring up his scar that he has. He hates it but he is alive. That is what matters. 

Kaleigh says that Musa has grown evil. I would also agree with this. Over time Musa has grown more mean. Maybe with his old age he feels like he has to defend himself more or something. I have no idea. 

Musa is Musa. There is no other kid like him. 

innocent

This boy is anything but what his name leads you to believe. He is always in trouble and always doing some extra duty because he got caught. 

(The one on the right.)

Inno is a man. This boy is ripped and takes no crap from anyone. He will beat a child no problem and yell and everything. He is not afraid to let people know who is boss but on the flip side... he is a mama's boy. At the end of the day he is always first in line to get a hug. He will randomly come up and hold my hand and walk with me. He is a man who loves his mama. 

Inno is always down for an adventure. I think that is half of the reason he is always in trouble. He will venture off to places he is not supposed to be. His soul wants to roam. He also loves animals. He can climb way high into trees and finds birds, chameleons and the whole gang. If a new animal is found... it was discovered by him. 

I would say that he is one of the hardest boys to teach. He is so stubborn and most of the time just does not want to listen to us. He always does this in front of the other boys but one on one he is super easy. 

I love Inno. There are days I want him to cool his jets and be a little nicer to the boys. He always treats me well. Just like most of the boys... Inno just wants someone to love and pay attention to him. 

peter

This is Peter in class 4. He is the oldest of the 3 Peters. He always has the giggles. He is constantly laughing about something. He is so extremely sweet. 

This boy just does his own thing. He doesn't do flips. He isn't fabulous at football. He is just there always helping out and happy as ever. He is a wonderful kid. 

He has a large scar on his forehead. I have no idea what it is from. Lately he has been rocking this red sweater and it is looking so fly on his body. 

Peter makes these really weird noises all the time. If you squeeze him he will squeal. This is just one example. When Kaleigh I give hugs at night before bed I always put my arms out to give him a hug. He will also put out his arms but last minute he will duck and cause me to hug the air. 

He is such a happy funny boy. 

william

William is either super small for his age or super smart for his age. Since we have no real idea of how old he is... we are left guessing. He is the smallest boy in the oldest class. He can keep up with those boys too. He is pulling out high marks and making those other boys work. 

(He is touching the chameleon)

William is so sweet. He just wants someone to love him. My first year here we were playing in the playroom at night and there was a power outage. I have no idea what happened but he starting crying... most likely another boy hurt him. He crawled into my lap. After he calmed down a little bit he said, "Megan, you sponsor me." He just wants someone to love him and care about him. 

William is also a very clean boy and likes to keep his things in order. He washes his uniform almost everyday and will ask us to borrow soap if he does not have any for himself. 

He is the sweetest. I love William.

dan sammy

Dan is a lot of the staff member's favorite kid. I have no idea why. This one just boggles my mind. There is nothing wrong about him but he is just not one of those kids that totally stand out to me. 

For some reason I feel like you can catch Dan with the cow a lot. He loves to show me the new chicks when they are born. He is super nice and wants to be noticed. He is an attention seeker. 

(He is in the red.)

My first year here I watched Dan get the beating of a life time by our local drunkard. It was so hard to just still and rub his back as he was crying his eyes out as silently as he could in his bed. I felt so bad for him. 

Kaleigh says that he is annoying. I would have to agree. He blames a lot of things on other kids. Dan has a lot of growing up to do but he is one kid that we are learning to love. 

He isn't awful all the time. 

jack attack

This boy is just like his nick name I have given him. He is so full of so much energy. He can do flip after flip after flip. He is so incredibly good at them. He is also good at football. Like I have said before... good at flips equals good at football. 

Jack can have a mean streak especially with the younger boys. Boy can he yell and boss them around but at the end of the day he will just cuddle the crap out of you. I remember my first year here he was like this even then. He got hurt his one time yelling at a child because they retaliated. After he came to me crying and curled up in a ball in my lap and fell asleep. 

The first year I was here was when I really made a connection with Jack that has carried through the years. He was in my family I was assigned to and I got attached. 

He has a few really unique things about him. He has a really odd tongue  He is super flexible and we all know that he is going to be a lady killer when he grows up. He has this lip bite smile that is going to win all the ladies. 

I love Jack. He really struggles in class but he is a very hard worker. That will get him far in life. 

bram

This boy is both sweet and sour. He will have his cute moments when he will come and cuddle up to you and just want to be loved. Then, 5 seconds later he is screaming at so child bossing them around and keeping them inline. After he is finished with that or even mid-yell he will turn around and smile at you. He wants to keep his sweet personification ingrained in your memory. I would say he is 80% sweet and 20% sour. 

Bram is one of the boys that is wicked good at flips. Just watching him makes it look like it is effortless for him. He is also really good at football. Normally if a boy is good at flips he is good at football too. 

Bram likes to be helpful. He is always willing to lend a hand. There are so many boys here that sometimes he is a boy that gets lost amongst the other boys. You forget about him for a while and then you see him again and realize you love him and want to play with him. 

He is a good kid. And I enjoy being around him. 

mwangi hussien

This child looks way different then the other kids. Kaleigh and suspect that he might be part Ethiopian or something like that. Or he is just a strange breed of Kenyan. Hussien also is part Japanese. When Tomo was here he would teach them Japanese songs. Hussien would sing that Japanese like he has been fluent his whole life. 

This boy is super smart. He is the oldest class and he is number one in his class. You would never guess this talking to him because he doesn't really like to speak in English and all the tests are in English. 

Lately Hussien has been rocking this "drunkard" outfit. He wears pants that are too big for him with a old nasty blazer and walks around doing his thing. It cracks Kaleigh and I up. He is a gangly boy with a unquie voice. I really like to tease him and hear the way he says, "No. no. no. It was ewwww-you"  

Hussien isn't around very much. He really just goes and does his own thing all day. When he does come around he wants to play games on Kaleigh's phone. Hussien is funny and super random. I would definitely describe him as awkward too. 

michael shaban

This little homeslice is making Kaleigh run for her money on largest mouth I have ever encountered. When he laughs his little tongue slaps around like a snake. And does this child laugh? He is so freaking loud all the time. He is always screaming or yelling about something and then of course he always cracks himself up... there goes the yapper flapping open once again. Not to mention that Shaban just doesn't really like to wear clothes on his top half. He always has his shirt unbutton and his tummy just hanging out. Let's be honest... his six pac. 

I swear Shaban is always complaining about something. When he complains to me he does it in this made up Shaban-English. It is so funny to listen to. He really didn't want to make these glove horn like things in class one day and repeatedly told me, "I don't want to make those foo-kering things in class!" With his accent and then breaking out into laughter after he said that... it made it always so funny. 

Shaban is Shaban. He always is being creative and doing something new. He plays football like a champion. He likes to be the center of attention. 

I think Shaban is so funny. I love it when he is around. Sometimes it is hard to calm him down but that is what makes him... Shaban.

reading in bed

Toto is sick. I have no idea where because he told me in Swahili and it is a part of the body that I have not learned yet.

Today it has been really rainy. All the boys were playing in the dorms. I went to join them all. He was laying in his bed. I went and asked him what was going on. Blah. Blah. Blah. I found out that he was sick. He was laying there in tears. You know he just wanted to feel well and play with the other boys.

Light bulb.

"Hey Toto! You want me to read you a book?"
"Yes!"

I walked to my house and grabbed the only chapter book we have. I came back to the dorm. I asked him to scoot over. There it was. Toto and I laid in his bed and I read him 5 chapters of this book. I would get to the end of a chapter and ask him to continue or stop. He would always say continue. My voice was getting raspy and so I let him play games on my phone instead after the 5th chapter.

I love moments like these.
I love one on one time with these boys.

I told him we would continue tomorrow. He seems really excited about that. 

benson wangwae

This boy is determined. He will practice and practice and practice flips over and over and over again until he nails them. He is not done practicing until they are 100% perfect and he is dang good. He might be the best flip master we have at the center.

He is also really good at football and drawing. I think that when he was born he was just born with talent oozing out of him. He is that type of person. But when he fails at something you will know because his favorite thing to say in English is the "s" word. It is honestly... so funny to hear. 

Benson is a lot of the staff member's favorite child. It is obvious why. Whenever I look at Benson I think of Tomo. Tomo loves Benson. Tomo is the Japanese PE teacher that lived here for 2 years. 

Benson is an incredible child. And he has really good teeth hygiene. 

kelvin

This is another Kelvin we have here at the center. This one always reminds me of an evil dictator. He has this laugh and just his look is so evil dictator like. 

He is in the middle.

Everyone says that he is super responsible and you can trust him with anything in your house but there is just something about him that always puts me on the edge. He is definitely not the first boy I would invite into my house. 

I was talking to his teacher and she told me about how Kelvin takes nothing seriously. She will be yelling at him because he did this wrong or disobeyed and he will just sit there and laugh at her... which makes her even more mad. 

Kelvin is an animal lover. He is always with the cow. I swear. He milks the cow and moves it around. He also knows when the chicken's eggs hatch. He will grab my hand and take me over to see the new baby chicks. 

Kelvin is the brother who first got me to start my cartwheeling love. He had a lot of patience and would laugh at all my failures. 

He is a unique little character. 

simon

This boy is a man. He is beyond ripped and is just pure man meat. Just meet him one day and you will know what I am talking about. He is also #1 in his class. He is so smart. 

Getting pictures of him is really hard. He normally runs away. 

I don't think that Simon has any free time. The staff are always making him work. They make him do all their little dirty deeds that they are too lazy to do themselves. When he does have free time it is obvious that he loves to play soccer. He is really into soccer. If someone makes a score from the other team he will go up to his goalie and smack them across the head. He really likes to win. 

I don't really know how this has happened but he is in charge of all the gardens of the center. You will always catch him out plowing the fields and tending to the little tomato plants. 

Simon tries to avoid any sort of loving but Kaleigh and I love to engulf him into hugs and what not. It is playful loving. We know he loves it. 

there is good

I want you all to know that there is good here too.

Yesterday, Kaleigh and I were helping Opondo clean his duty. He is currently in charge of the floors in the little boy's dorm. He left us for a short while. I was wondering where he went. We found him in the hallway near the bathroom. The boys had dumped a ton of water on the ground and made it into their own personal slip and slide. The were stripping down to what they needed and sliding all over the place. It was so much fun to watch.

There was so much pure joy in a little space.
I loved it.

Today I broke out my camera and starting filming things. I want to not loose my love for Kenya. I want to make sure that when I go back to America I will continue to get homesick for this place. I want to film the boys. I sat down 5 of them and interviewed them. As I sat there and asked them questions it was just a firm reminder of how much I freaking love them. They don't speak very good English and my Swahili is not very good either but we understand each other. And so I just sat there and asked them questions. They knew exactly what I was saying and I bet the videos won't make much sense to a lot of people but I also know exactly what they are saying. And I love that.

We have learned how to communicate in a weird Kenyan Butler lingo.

momma hen

There are times when I get all mama hen on the kids. Tonight is a fabulous example of that.

There is this nasty man who works at this center. He is totally unfit to be around the kids. He is drunk 100% of the time and smoking the other 100% of the time. Tonight was no exception.

This homeboy rolls up in the dorms during my time I read to them. I can smell the beer on him. The boys also know what is going on. It is about 7:50 at night and super dark. He starts talking to them. He tells two of the boys that they need to go milk the cows and the rest of them need to go out and get ready for school and do their morning duties.

The kids listen to him because he is drunk and will beat them if they don't do what he says. And so all the boys leave the dorm and start running around like crazies because a crazy is making them do so. He came back into the dorm where I was with about 15 of the boys and starts yelling at them. That is when I told him that it was night time and some other choice things. He left and the boys clapped for me.

In a short amount of time it was all taken care of and the nasty was put to bed. It definately made me nervous for a second. Last time he came into the dorms drunk like that and I was there he beat the crap out of a bunch of kids.

I just do not understand why they keep him around. They always tell me something a long the lines of "He is an old man and you cannot fire old men." Oh... I am so sorry but you can and you should. 

biggie harrison

This is the weirdest child I have ever met. Most of the time no one knows where he is at because he is never where he is supposed to be. Biggie is in his own world. It is so fun to just sit back and watch him do his thing. You never know what his is going to do next. 

I can't explain the way he speaks English but I just love it. It is always like 10% English and 90% made up Biggie language. He is also super awkward in the way that he presents himself because he is just lost in this world in his head. I swear. 

Just look at the shoes he is wearing... homeboy does not need to be wearing those shoes. That was his choice. 

He has a really hard time in class because he just can't sit and pay attention for that long. He wants to wander. He is so creative. He loves to mimic animals and follow them around. 

Biggie might be the weirdest kid I have ever met but he is super funny. He is always laughing about something. Most of the time he is also willing to share the funny moment with me but the language barrier is just so thick. 

Also last year Biggie used to do this thing where he would take his head and snuggle it into your stomach like he is cat or something. Strange child.

Biggie is one of the those people that you just let them do their thing and leave them alone.
Sit back and laugh.
But don't ask him what he is doing or else he will start giggling and run away. 

austin

As we keep handing out awards... Austin wins the award for the cutest boy at the center. He is just so precious. Last year he didn't have his front two teeth and we thought that made him cute but they grew in just fine and he is still freaking cute. 

He is not part of the original crew of boys I met the 1st year I came but now I cannot picture Kenya without him. He is just wonderful. 

Austin is ripped. This child has some super firm pectorals and arm muscles. He is all muscle but he never uses it against another. Austin will not hurt a fly. He is so kind all the time. He is so so so nice. 

He is in pre-unit which is like kindergarten. He is one of the top boys in his class. He knows what is going on. He is never in trouble. He loves to help. I love to have him around. I cannot get enough of him but most of the time he is doing his own thing. 

He is super ticklish and has the cutest laugh. The boy is a total joy. 

Like I have said before... he is just freaking cute.

kev kevo

This kid gets the award for the most annoying voice of all the boys at the center. It drives me crazy. He has this very high pitched pre-pubescent voice that just does not tickle my fancy and is he loud. I don't think he knows how to be quiet. 

This boy also loves attention and sometimes I just don't want to give it. There are good things about Kevo. He is not afraid to talk to adults. Most of the boys are but if there is a problem he will march right up to whoever and tell them. He is also really good at curbing his anger.

He is a boy that I only can deal with in short waves. I bet you could already tell. 

I  honestly don't mean this to be offensive to anyone but... If in a few years he comes out of the closet. I would not be surprised. 

And that is Kev Kevo. 

brian

This little boy gets the award for being the nastiest child. That is a fact. You will catch him with boogers all over his face. You will catch him killing insects and small animals. You definitely will catch him playing with poop. He is a nasty little child. 

The first two years I came he had a huge problem sucking his fingers. He would suck on two of them all day long. They would always be white and wrinkly. It was nasty. He would play with poop and then start sucking again. Nasty. Nasty child. He doesn't suck on his fingers anymore. That will bless his life. 

Other then that he is really a sweet boy. He is another that has grown up over the last three years and grown on me. He is super funny and always extremely willing to help. (First ask him to wash his hands.) 

He is in class 2. He does well with his school work. Bryo really is a good kid just with a bad choice of a hobby. 

baula

This is our little pastor of Kenya. Once he put on a blazer and told Kaleigh that he was a pastor. So accordingly Kaleigh asked him to pray for her. He put his hands on her head and said, "hummma hummma hummma Amen." Now we ask him to pray for us all the time. It is so funny. 

Kaleigh and I both swear that his huge head is way too big for his little body. He is a bean pole. 

He is in class 3. He is always so freaking happy and has this infectious laugh. He loves to teach Kaleigh and I by taking us into the classes and having us read the posters in on the walls. He tries to speak English but honestly does not know that much but it is so cute when he tries. 

Kaleigh says that he is, "freaking hilarious " He loves to be in pictures and loves to be tortured because he always comes back for more. 

Baula was definitely a street kid because the first year I was here we always caught him in our house stealing things like bread. He doesn't do that anymore. He also was super annoying the first year but over time we have learned to love each other so much. 

We love it when Baula wants to play with us. He always makes us laugh. He is super gentle and I just love him. How can you not?

flip master

Kaleigh tried to surprise me with Oscar coming to the center. I told her I would believe it when I see it due to the fact this was the 3rd time he said he would come. 

The brother kept to his word and was in Thika town the next morning for us to pick him up. We got him, biscuits, yogurt and juice and headed home. 

The boys love and adore Oscar. I tell them everyday that Oscar is a mbaya rafaki (bad friend) but they are just not catching onto the idea. The always get mad and tell me that he is poa rafaki. (good friend) One day they will believe me or just agree with me to give me a confidence boost. 

Oscar just walked in the gate of our compound and the boys were so excited. They surrounded him and started asking him all sorts of questions. They wanted him to start doing flips for them right away. They wanted to know when he was going to come back again. They just wanted to be around him. They love him.

We went into my house and ate yogurt. Kaleigh and Oscar put the new light bulbs up in our house and I went and played with the boys. Earlier that day I dyed the ugi (porridge) to green. I made sure we were there to watch them drink it. I asked Peter what was going on with the ugi. He said, "It looks like sewage!" These boys are so funny. 

After ugi we went to the dorms and put up lights there too. Kaleigh and I bought them. The boys literally only had 3 lights for a dorm that requires 12 or more. The boys cheered and were so excited for every light that went up and worked. I loved it. 

While the lights were being put up by Babu... Oscar and I snuck outside and he finally did his first flip. It left the boys speechless for a half second before they broke out in cries for more and more and more. The boys would do a few flips and then Oscar would do one. The highlight for the boys was when Oscar did 3 back flips right in a row. The boys are still trying to figure out how to do that. 

After mastering the tire and showing all the flips you can do there and Oscar teaching a few new tricks we moved to the stones. Oscar had never done flips off a stone. The boys got to teach him. He was super impressed by their skills and was too scared to do some of the tricks the boys did. 

We got interrupted to help carry in wood into the kitchen. I got the duty of carrying the heaviest logs. Oscar got the duty of chucking the wood into the old fridge and Kaleigh got the duty of loading people up. It took forever but I was happy to help. 

We served lunch. The boys ate. We went to Naivas to get food for lunch. Hamburgers it was. Kaleigh cooked while I played. Toto called me a useless pumpkin after I did a cartwheel. We ate. 

Now it was time for a soccer game. Of course I talked to the boys ahead of time and stacked my team with all the best players because Kaleigh said she got Oscar. My team won even though half of us left early to help serve dinner. 

And that was basically the day. We took Oscar back into Thika and sent the brother on his way home. It was so much fun. The boys need good role models and they just take to Oscar like a bee to honey. 

Everyone loves it when Oscar comes around. The boys continually ask us when he is coming back and are still practicing their triple back flips... which end up to become a triple cartwheel. 

change of pace

Kenya just recently elected their new president. Uhuru won. Because of the elections we were advised to flee the country due to the chance there might be an out break of violence. Obviously there was little to barely any but we still took it as an opportunity to visit Ethiopia. 

I have been told multiple times that Ethiopia is an incredible country that I need to go to. I was all about it. I have been ready to go there for years and just needed the excuse. Kaleigh really wanted to go south to Tanzania but she didn't fight or talk loud enough and we got our tickets to Ethiopia. 

The plane left at 5 in the morning. We got to the airport at 3. I am so thankful for the Abilla family being willing to let us stay at their house even with all these crazy times. 

Luckily we have a distant relative that lives in Ethiopia that was SO gracious to let us stay at their not so humble abode for the week. 

We get to the Ethiopia airport with no Birr or Dollars. All we have is Shillings. In Ethiopia they don't exchange Shillings. Luckily Kaleigh was in the right place at the right time and someone heard her plea. A random lady gave Kaleigh enough dollars to buy a visa for the two of us. That was a tender mercy.

My Aunt Tammy's niece's husband picked us up at the airport. We get to Ethiopia just in time for the end of sacrament meeting. Church is all in English and Amharic. Church is held in a house. We went to primary with Nadine. After church we came home and fell asleep. Nadine made pizza. It was so delicious. They had a get together of all the white Mormons in Addis and that was our Sunday. Lots of sugary treats. It was great. 

The next day we woke up early. Took a hot shower and Jeru was there to take us on our first adventure. I made a list of all the things you can do in Addis Ababa. Jeru was our personal tour guide and translator for the week. She is a YSA from the ward that Nadine and Warren hooked us up with. We hit the street. I don't remember the order of everything we did but we went to a bunch of museums, the American embassy and the lion park. We saw Lucy... the oldest person ever. That was sweet. We also learned a lot about the history of the Rastafarian king that ruled Ethiopia that people believe is the rasta god because he brought rain to Jamaica. Sweet? Yes. We saw a lot of lions too. Their roars are so cool. Also... how can you go to Ethiopia and not eat injera. I had it for lunch. 

That night we met up at the church with a bunch of the YSA and the elders for an FHE. Someone shared the spiritual thought and all the sudden I was in charge of the game. We played two rounds of telestraions. Let's just talk about the awkward elder next to me that thought "ven diagram" was a good idea of something to draw. I doubt "ven diagram" even translates into Amharic. It was so much fun. The highlight of the day. At the end of this day we had already done almost everything on the list that I made of things to do in Addis.

Tuesday we woke up. Jeru met up with us at the mansion again. We went to Entoto. This is a huge hill where a church is at the top. I guess it used to be the capitol of Ethiopia. There is also an old palace. At the bottom of the hill there is a lot of touristy shops. We went to the top first and then made our way down. At the church there was a museum. We had a tour guide. He was speaking English but I could not understand a word he said. 

Trying to bargain for things was so hard. Ethiopians are not aggressive like Kenyans and Jeru felt so awkward asking for a lower price. We had to have a translator do it for us because no one speaks English. Kaleigh and I refuse to pay the "white price." We could tell Jeru hated bargaining. And of course we had more injera for lunch. 

We went home and it was a day. 

The next day we woke up and went to church. We went to the Saint Trinity Church. 

It was incredibly beautiful. Because we are white the unlocked the doors and let us inside. This cute old priest took us on a tour of the inside. This is where the rasta king's tomb is located. 

That is all we did that day in town because we needed to head back early to make Kenyan food for 16 people. It was a success but it took forever to crank out that many chapatis. 

On Thursday we woke up and went to work with Nadine. She works at an international preschool. It was really fun and it was weird to be surrounded by so many tiny kids who spoke English. We went back to the house. Jeru met us up there. We went to a couple of bazaars and called it a day. 

On Friday Jeru came to the house. We went to the Mercato. It is a huge open air market in Ethiopia. We got two things and walked a lot of it. I loved it. Ethiopia is a lot more expensive compared to Kenya. It was just hard to spend money there except when it came to getting things for other people. After that we called it day. Kaleigh and I came home and washed all our clothes and started packing. Warren took us to the airport and we got to Kenya at 1:30 in the morning. 

When we got the the airport we were asked for our yellow fever cards. Of course we do not have them. The person I had to talk to about it behind the counter would talk to me in between falling asleep. She threatened to keep us in the airport until 8 and have to get the shot in the airport clinic but then fell asleep again and said we could just pass through but bring it with us next time. I was so nervous. 

We took a taxi to the Abilla's house and got there around 2:30 am. We were home and safe.

We stayed with Nadine and Warren. Warren works for the embassy. The government house they live in was a mansion. It was 5 stories, 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms. It was so different then the view we saw out of the window. Nadine and Warren were so nice and I am so grateful for their generousness to let us stay with them. 

Ethiopia was so different from Kenya. The people are lighter skinned. Their hair is different. There are beggars everywhere. No one speaks English. The food is different. I love Kenya so much. I am so thankful for the opportunity that I had to travel to Ethiopia and the experiences I had there.